What do I need to run 8' shredder?

[45er]

I am looking at a JD 5103 tractor with 43 horses at the PTO. I need to pull an 8' shredder over gently rolling, sandy land. No three inch trunks to chop, just heavy "weeds". Will this JD 2WD tractor easily handle a 3 pt, 8' shredder or do I need to jump to a 5203? Also, any advice on the minimum sized (and economy priced) New Holland or Kubota tractors that would be suitable for this task. I've got 25 acres that need to be shredded and my little NH 1925 with the 5' shredder just takes too much time! Many thanks,

Rob

 

[Birdhunter1]

43 PTO hp will power your 8' bushhog but you'll probably have to go fairly slow at it, compared to what you could do with a 7'. 50+ hp would be more suitable for that mower.

 

[Glowplug]

My guess is that you would be okay with a 43 hp, 2WD tractor pulling an 8' rotary cutter. I assume it's a pull-type cutter and not a 3ph lift type. It may help if we had some more info on the cutter itself.

 

[redlevel]

Will this JD 2WD tractor easily handle a 3 pt, 8' shredder
Rob

It might handle it, but not easily. I would say you need a minimum 50 hp tractor for that, and I really wouldn't be comfortable with that. I am assuming you are talking about at least a medium duty rotary cutter. I believe you mentioned something about "heavy weeds." I don't know anything about your particular tractor, but 43 pto hp should handle a 6' 3ph mower, say a Bushhog 286, like a top.

Your tractor might handle a pull-type 8' mower, but I still believe you would need a little more hp in heavy weeds.

Mark

 

[Fredex]

Depends upon your description of "heavy weeds" and how often/regularly you mow them. I have a 50 pto hp tractor and 7' hog. In spring/early summer growth where the fescue is thick and is thigh high it is a load in 3rd gear, 4th is too much. But most places (not so thick & knee high) 4th gear is good; light places are 5th gear. Mowing more frequently makes it easier. Also, strangely enough, coarse weeds, like horse weed, mows easier than thick grasses like fescue. So, on my place, I would want 55 pto hp on an 8' hog unless I intended to mow every few weeks during the early growing season.
Fred

 

[JoeinTX]

From the description of this property, I'd suspect at most knee-high or so weeds/grass in clumps, no sprouts of any serious kind.......almost like an old field...???

If so, then yes, 43hp will handle the 8'er for this. The responses you've gotten so far indicate so much about where the posters are as opposed to whether or not this couple will work together. I have a 5' shredder behind my 8n, it's a perfect match, and most similar tractors in this part of the world are paired with a 5-foot cutter. In some places, it wouldn't handle more than a 4 foot shredder.

The 5103 is 6' at its narrowest guage setting and it weighs 3850lbs 2wd/platform. Depending on your particular brand of shredder, it's likely to weigh in at anywhere from 900-1300lbs. The tractor can handle this okay assuming you're not trying to saw through stumps and rocks in supply. Being a 3pt version, you should think of front weights to make things smoother and balance the load.

 

[MarkV]

I need to pull an 8' shredder over gently rolling, sandy land.

Will 2wd handle the sand and hills with a heavy weight on the back?

MarkV

 

[45er]

JoeInTx,

I live about 8 miles west of Bellville (about 75 miles west of downtown Houston). The hilly part of my property is "sugar sand" with widely scattered trees among natural fields. The only clay is on flat land near the creek that runs through my property and this is mostly Coastal.

I'm a little concerned about pulling a heavy shredder up even a gentle slope in the summer when that sand turns to "dust". I'm hoping the heavy weight of a tractor like the JD 5103 with a 72" bucket will be OK in 2WD. As I said in another post, this is a real dilemma as I'd like to keep my little NH 1925 because I have all the implements I need EXCEPT a big enough shredder. Bigger tractor, bigger shredder, needs bigger disc harrow and box blade, etc. etc. etc. and MORE $$$$$$$$$.

Oh well, there are worse problems to have.

 

[CharlieTR]

I have a Long LongTrac 520 (52 HP). I am told repeatedly by the dealers (several of them) that 52 HP is not enough to pull an 8 or 12 ft cutter. I almost beg them and show them the broshures that say "min HP req: 35".
But they remain convinced it is not enough HP. So now I am stuck with 6 footer cutting 46 acres about 4 6-8 hour days to cut (lots of hills and ditches).

Go older and bigger get 80 HP, someday you may want to bale those weeds and charge 60 bucks per bale.

 

[JoeinTX]

And here again we see another instance where experiences may conflict.

We see 60hp tractors pulling 15' mowers on highway mowing contracts often. I've pulled an 8' shredder with a 120hp tractor because the situation dictated it........old field turned to pasture with mesquite/oak sprouts, Johnson grass, waist-high growth in some areas moving along in second and third gear.

Using the old rule of 5 pto hp per foot at reasonable speed in reasonable growth for a rotary cutter, then the average 40hp can handle 8' and the average 50hp can handle 10'.

@45er-You have th PTO hp in the 5103 to run that shredder in most conditions. Not seeing the land or knowing how much sand you have, you may have a traction issue unless going FWA or going with a pull-type mower versus a mounted one. Any further description or pictures of your place?

@CharlieTR-You're tractor will definitely handle more than 6' in a shredder. How you use it and how fast is the deciding factor......in rough pasture that may be all you need to try to handle. In others you could sail along without whimper dragging a 10-footer or better.